FIG. 8 is a sectional view of a conventional surface mount capacitor.
As described in FIG. 8, an electrode material 2 is formed on both main faces of a dielectric substrate 1. A lead terminal 3 connected to each electrode material 2 extends to an external terminal 3a. The entire assembly is then covered with an external packaging material 4, except for the external terminal 3a which protrudes from the external packaging material 4 and is formed on the external packaging material 4.
As most electronic equipment becomes smaller, surface mount electronic components used in such equipment also need to further reduce the size in proportion. However, examination of the feasibility of creating smaller surface mount capacitors with the configuration shown in FIG. 8 reveals that problems may occur due to migration and reduced resistance to electrical breakdown.